Shloka 65
Varṇa-dharma and Rājadharma: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Outline (वर्णधर्म-राजधर्म-प्रश्नोत्तरम्)
लब्धस्य च प्रशमनं सतां चैवाभिपूजनम् । विद्वद्धिरेकीभावश्व दानहोमविधिज्ञता
labdhasya ca praśamanaṁ satāṁ caivābhipūjanam | vidvaddhirekībhāvaś ca dānahomavidhijñatā ||
Bhishma berkata: “Risalah itu juga menghuraikan tugas-tugas ini: menenteramkan serta mentadbir dengan baik apa yang telah diperoleh; memuliakan orang-orang berbudi; memupuk kesepakatan dan kerjasama dengan para cendekia; dan mengetahui tatacara yang benar bagi sedekah (dāna) dan upacara homa.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler (and, by extension, any responsible person) should stabilize what has been gained, honor the virtuous, cultivate harmony with the learned, and follow dharmic procedures for charity and ritual—linking political success to ethical restraint, respect, and right practice.
In the Shanti Parva instruction sequence, Bhishma is advising Yudhishthira on dharma and statecraft. Here he lists qualities and practices said to be described in a guiding treatise—principles of pacification/administration, honoring good people, scholarly concord, and correct observance of giving and homa.